The Walking Dead
By Grant Gaines
“The hand of the LORD was on me (Ezekiel), and He brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry.
He asked me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ I said, ‘Sovereign LORD, You alone know.’
Then He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’
So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them” (Ezekiel 37:1-8, NIV).
Have you ever been out of breath? Whether it is from working out, walking up a long flight of stairs, or competing in a breath holding contest, the carbon dioxide in your lungs far outweighed the life-giving oxygen. It’s not a good feeling, is it? And not only does being out of breath leave you feeling awful but it also momentarily paralyzes you, leaving you as worthless as a valley of dry bones.
If this is true physically, how much more is it spiritually? When we’re “out of breath” spiritually, we are completely worthless. And that’s exactly what happened to these dry bones in Ezekiel 37-they were nothing but a bunch of skin and bones in desperate need of the breath of God.
I believe that we are in a similar situation as these dry bones were in Ezekiel. I believe that every morning when we wake up we are nothing but flesh and bones in desperate need of the breath of God to bring us to life. Sure, we may stand to our feet and even make it through an entire day, but without the breath of God filling our hearts, we are spiritually paralyzed.
So what is this essential element that I keep referring to as the breath of God? Glad you asked.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV, bold mine) gives us the definition when it says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness so that the man of God will be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Did you see that? 2 Timothy 3:16 claims that every word written in the Bible was literally spoken by the Lord Himself. The Word of God = the breath of God. And it is this breath of God that we receive exclusively through His Word which brings us to life.
Whenever we crack open our Bibles and soak in His truth as we start out our days, it is like we receive CPR for our dying souls. Without the breath of God, we are nothing more than a bag of dry bones wandering meaninglessly through each day. With the breath of God, however, we come to life.
“Then [the LORD] said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet-a vast army” (Ezekiel 37:9-10, NIV).
Have you allowed God’s breath to bring you to life today?
Comments? Questions? Suggestions?
